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Nintendo
Nintendo Co., Ltd. is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel. Eventually, Nintendo developed into a video game company, becoming one of the most influential in the industry and Japan's third most valuable listed company, with a market value of over US$85 billion. Besides video games, Nintendo is also the majority owner of the Seattle Mariners, a Major League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington. According to Nintendo's Touch! Generations website, the name "Nintendo" translated from Japanese to English means "Leave luck to Heaven". As of October 2, 2008, Nintendo has sold over 470 million hardware units and 2.7 billion software units. It is currently the dominator in the video game industry. Company History *'1889' - Nintendos founders begin manufacturing Japanese Hanafuda playing cards in Kyoto. *'1970s' - Nintendo branches out into electronic games that become extremely popular in amusement arcades. *'1980' - Nintendo of America Inc. is established in New York. The Game & Watch portable game system is introduced. *'1981' - Nintendos coin-op arcade game Donkey Kong becomes the best-selling machine in the business. *'1986' - The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) launches in Europe, including Super Mario. Bros which became one of the biggest-selling games of all time. *'1989' - The Game Boy is introduced, eventually becoming the most popular portable gaming system in the world. *'1990' - Nintendo of Europe establishes its headquarters in Grossostheim, Germany. *'1992' - The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) arrives, bringing even more powerful gaming to homes. *'1996' - The Nintendo 64 console is launched, along with an innovative Rumble Pak that let players feel their games like never before. *'1999' - After taking Japan and America by storm, Pokιmon is released in Europe; helping Game Boy sales pass the 100 million mark. *'2001' - The Game Boy Advance, more powerful than its predecessor and even more portable, comes to Europe. *'2002' - Nintendos powerful new console Nintendo GameCube arrives in Europe, followed by a revolutionary WaveBird wireless controller. *'2003' - Game Boy Advance SP, a new design for the hit handheld, is released, including an illuminated screen for gaming anywhere. *'2004' - Nintendo continues to innovate with games like Donkey Konga, which uses bongo drums to control the action. *'2005' - Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS, a new handheld system with a touch-sensitive screen, built-in microphone and wireless multiplayer features. *'2006 ' - Building on the massive success of the Nintendo DS, Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS Lite; a sleeker version with the same unique features. In December, players also get their hands on the new home console system, Wii, with its unique one-handed motion-sensitive controller. *'2009' - The Nintendo DSi is released. It is an upgraded version of the DS with Internet access and a camera. Later, in Q4, Nintendo releases the Nintendo DSi XL, an upgraded version of the DSi, with a bigger screen.